light up

phrasal verb

1

of a light : to become lit : to begin shining

All of the lights on the display suddenly lit up.

—often used figuratively to express interest or pleasure

His eyes/face lit up when she walked in the room.

2

informal, of a telephone : to show a light indicating that someone is calling

When the DJ announced a contest, the phones lit up.

3

informal : to light a cigarette

I can't wait to light up after work.

Examples of light up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Cincinnati Museum Center will light up in pink, teal and green this evening as a part of #LightupMBC, a global campaign to raise money for stage 4 breast cancer. —Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Oct. 2025

The Doja Cat blitz will light up LACMA’s Art+Film gala. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025

These storms trigger interactions between the Earth’s magnetic field and charged particles from the sun, resulting in the stunning colors that light up the sky. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025

The northern lights could light up the skies across several parts of the United States on Monday due to a geomagnetic storm, according to space and weather experts. —Megan Forrester, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for light up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup